AN OVERWEIGHTED SYSTEM.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 135, 5 June 1909, Page 4

AN OVERWEIGHTED SYSTEM.

It nas long been thought by persons who hava made a special study of our system of primary education that the syllabus at-present in force unduly encourages what a member of the* Auckland Education Board called the other day, the "frills" of education, the primary subjects proper being consequently neglected. There can be little doubt that there is good ground for the belief that the time spent on "hrushwork" and other extras might be much better employed in writing, reading and arithmetic. Old teachers—men of long ; experience—make no secret of their opinion that th<f time now dovoted to arithmetic is insufficient, and this'paring .down i& undoubtedly due to the over-weighting of the syllabus With what may be called "fancy subjects." .A conference,,of-members of the Education Board, inspectors and teachers; is to be held at Auckland at an early date to inquire into the working of the syllabus, and. might well be followed by similar conferences in the various Education -Board districts throughout the Dominion. Another point in connection with, the education system upon which there might well be some discussion by scholastic experts is whether we are not over-doing the secondary side of our State system. lne free place" system is very attractive in the face, but it is involving the State in an annual expense much greater than was originally intended ; and it is a very open question whether the parents of many of these 'free place" holders could not very well pay for tlie higher education now given to their children at the, expense of the State. This is a question which will no doubt be debated when "the. Education Estimates are presented to Parliament, and if the new Parliament does its duty it will go into the question very careiully and very thoroughly.